Runner's world

Posting at SNEC (Singapore National Eye Centre) has been a pretty relaxing one so far. A much needed breather after a rather shiong paeds posting.. quite interesting at first but can be quite tiring and mundane standing in the clinics for hours, especially if there is nothing much to see or do.. getting better with the ophthalmosope, albeit most of the pupils have been dilated and it's easier to see..

Army half marathon went well, better than expected.. especially since I barely ran 5 km 2 weeks prior to the run due to a medial arch injury.. I think most people think I am crazy, taking part in all these runs. I also dunno what motivated me to go through all these runs.. I picked it up 3 years ago when I was slacking away as a clerk in army and decided that I could not get fat sitting in the office every day from 9 to 5.. And I guess running suits me cos it's cheap, in fact almost free if not for the shoes, and convenient.. and it's quite a loner sport. there's no need for a partner or team-mate, unlike in tennis or soccer.. and I guess I do enjoy the quiet and peace of running alone. it removes a lot of clutter in my mind and allows me plenty of time to think about stuff, which distracts me from the physical exertion and the distance. and yup can pray to God at the same time too.. and of course the best method to maintain fitness and burn fat, and safer than lap-banding too..

But it can get quite boring, so you have to either have a lot of creativity in thinking of new routes to run every time, or you just have to have a lot of discipline and motivation to run the same route every time. For me, it's the latter cos I am used to running long dist and I am too lazy and uncreative to think of new routes to run. And it's easier to calculate distance if I run multiples of the same 5km route..

The biggest obstacle for me is time.. especially this year, and the situation wont get any better for the next few years to come.. the long runs can come to 4 hours or so including the warming up, lacing up, cooling down, cleaning up, resting and stuff, and my short runs aren't that short as well.. so you can imagine if I train properly, how many hours a week I can spend running.. I think the challenge is really how I plan my time to juggle studies, running, church, bible studies and social outings. And to remind myself that running is not the most important thing in my life.. Just have to train enough to cross the finishing line safe and sound haha.

Next race is 42.195km in December.. God bless me. =)